The Cost of Medication Nonadherence

Medication adherence is generally defined as the extent to which patients take medication as prescribed by their doctors. This involves factors such as getting prescriptions filled, remembering to take medications on time, and understanding the directions. Surprisingly, 50% of patients do not take their medications as prescribed.

Patient nonadherence to prescribed medications is associated with:

Progression of disease

Poor therapeutic outcomes

Avoidable direct health care costs

Productivity costs.

A big picture point of view shows that poor medication adherence results in approximately $100 billion per year in wasteful healthcare spending. Figure 2 cited in a study by the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics shows those costs by care setting.

Figure 1

A big picture point of view shows that poor medication adherence results in approximately $100 billion per year in wasteful healthcare spending. – Brandon Conroy, Practice Director, Retirement Analytics.

Nonadherence Impacts More than Healthcare Costs

Researchers have estimated that health-related productivity losses are 2.3 times higher than direct healthcare costs (JOEM).

Another study from the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (JOEM), “Impact of Medication Adherence on Absenteeism and Short-Term Disability for Five Chronic Diseases,” estimated absenteeism and disability costs due to medication nonadherence. Figure 4 below depicts some of the findings.

Figure 4

How Much is Nonadherence Costing Your Company?

Do you know how many of your employees and their dependents are taking their medications as prescribed? Is noncompliance impacting your disability costs, absenteeism rates, and productivity?

If you can’t answer these questions you can’t design effective programs to address the issues.

Your benefits data holds the answers. Make benefits data analytics a New Year’s resolution for 2019.

I wish all my readers a safe and happy holiday season, and a prosperous New Year. I will post my next blog on January 16.